A sass company that I know of has a bunch of sales openings in the DC/VA area. They go to a lot of trade shows, so view it as day game/cold approach practice.

https://www.indeed.com/m/viewjob?jk=cd1c...5&dupclk=0

Just tell them you will grind harder than anyone else. Hopefully you’ve done some athletics or something competitive that you can showcase.

I got a job. Pay is standard SDR base + commission (amount has been discussed before). OTE seems extremely achievable, great benefits, I start next month.

Advice for interviewing:

-Apply to every position, you never know
-Think about any prior experience...and relate it to the company
-Really think about ANY sales or public speaking experience, and use it in the interview
-Research the company thoroughly before the first interview, it pays off
-Read EndsExpect's post (and this entire thread)
-If you haven't done phone sales, work on your tonality a bit. Speak clearly, confidently, and with energy, this will go a long way.

I'm excited for what's to come. Here's to making this thread the next oil sands thread Cheers

Quote: (12-05-2018 09:08 PM)ChicagoFire Wrote:  

Totally agree, can't put it any better. +1 I'm not stupid but over the years I could have used my sales skills to put myself into better financial positions. Why keep working at [low paying job] when you can market yourself as a salesman and make even more money?

I'm an introvert too. You just put on a performance but at the end of the day you just want to get away from it all. I will say some people really annoy me when they talk about stupid stuff like how much food they should order....I just cook food bro I don't know how much your fucking family eats. This extends to other introverts too probably.

Just don't let it be a limiting belief where you must be extroverted to sell. Might as well just sit at home and play video games at that point.

Quote: (12-05-2018 07:51 PM)Nolimitz Wrote:  

Working in a boiler room/sales environment the past couple months has been a big wake up call for me.

Many problems in life can be boiled down to lacking the ability to sell. Not fucking the women you want? Learn to sell. Not making the amount of money you desire? Learn to sell. Your lack a quality group of friends? Learn to sell.

That being said, I do believe sales comes more naturally to some than others. I am naturally an introvert. Having to cold call every day has awakened me to many issues that I was unaware of. Things like tonality, rapport, volume, and pacing are all key aspects of selling (and any interaction for that matter) that I have been completely oblivious to. I am a bit monotone to be quite honest.

Can anyone learn to sell? I believe so. Is it much harder for some than others? Absolutely.

I'm an introvert who's always been fascinated by sales and business. I always had the limiting beliefs that I would never succeed so I never tried, unfortunately. I would like to read some books on it to learn more, even just to get some of the benefits of the sales mentality even if I don't do it as a job. I have never seen myself as a people person, so I went the trades route in life, but I have always longed for a sales life (IE not getting dirty, being less location dependent, still making 100K+).

Side question: How much does the praeto principle (80/20 rule) play into sales? I have talked about sales jobs to guys I know, and it sounds like 20% or less of salesmen making 80% or more of the money, with the bottom 80% just getting by to starving.

Quote: (01-19-2019 11:42 AM)Hypugamy Wrote:  

Quote: (12-05-2018 09:08 PM)ChicagoFire Wrote:  

Totally agree, can't put it any better. +1 I'm not stupid but over the years I could have used my sales skills to put myself into better financial positions. Why keep working at [low paying job] when you can market yourself as a salesman and make even more money?

I'm an introvert too. You just put on a performance but at the end of the day you just want to get away from it all. I will say some people really annoy me when they talk about stupid stuff like how much food they should order....I just cook food bro I don't know how much your fucking family eats. This extends to other introverts too probably.

Just don't let it be a limiting belief where you must be extroverted to sell. Might as well just sit at home and play video games at that point.

Quote: (12-05-2018 07:51 PM)Nolimitz Wrote:  

Working in a boiler room/sales environment the past couple months has been a big wake up call for me.

Many problems in life can be boiled down to lacking the ability to sell. Not fucking the women you want? Learn to sell. Not making the amount of money you desire? Learn to sell. Your lack a quality group of friends? Learn to sell.

That being said, I do believe sales comes more naturally to some than others. I am naturally an introvert. Having to cold call every day has awakened me to many issues that I was unaware of. Things like tonality, rapport, volume, and pacing are all key aspects of selling (and any interaction for that matter) that I have been completely oblivious to. I am a bit monotone to be quite honest.

Can anyone learn to sell? I believe so. Is it much harder for some than others? Absolutely.

Side question: How much does the praeto principle (80/20 rule) play into sales? I have talked about sales jobs to guys I know, and it sounds like 20% or less of salesmen making 80% or more of the money, with the bottom 80% just getting by to starving.

Pareto principle is extremely pronounced in lower tier sales: life insurance, real estate, multi-level marketing, mortgages, etc. You have guys making multiple millions but the average guy is lucky to make $50k.

The only sales jobs that you should pursue have a high median income. The two best are enterprise technology and medical device. Anything else is a risk that isn't worth it.

My educated guess is in terms of Pareto principle the effective sales people are the ones that have huge social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook. They aren't cold calling which is ineffective and not how you obtain your OTE.

Does anybody know if there are part time sales jobs? I currently am about 90% of the way in getting another job but the problem with that particular field is they cut positions even if you have experience. Wouldn't hurt for some of the guys out here that are preparing for a post Trump world.

Maybe it's just my resume but when I applied to Angel List SDR roles my clip rate in terms of getting a reply back is maybe 2/100.


Shot a PM. Everybody here needs to take advantage of the economy while it's still booming. The days of having a cushy job where your employer cares for you are over.

Quote: (01-11-2019 01:46 PM)EndsExpect Wrote:  

Medical Device Sales is my industry. I would not recommend anyone go into Pharma. It's not actually a sales position the pay rates have absolutely plummeted over the years, and med device companies won't even look at your resume if your background is pharma. They are literally viewed as lunch delivery people by most medical professionals and everyone now knows it. Not to say it can't be done... but it is super hard to transition out of Pharma right now.

If anyone is looking into this particular field feel free to PM me. It might take a bit of time to respond, but I know this industry better than virtually anyone.

Wrong.

Unless you're working in an enterprise role at a large company and you know a ton of CISOs, or you're a re broker, you're going to be doing a lot of cold calling

Quote: (01-25-2019 06:07 PM)qwertyuiop Wrote:  

Wrong.

Unless you're working in an enterprise role at a large company and you know a ton of CISOs, or you're a re broker, you're going to be doing a lot of cold calling

If you're not actively prospecting, you're not a salesman. You are an order taker.

Quote: (01-25-2019 06:07 PM)qwertyuiop Wrote:  

Wrong.

Unless you're working in an enterprise role at a large company and you know a ton of CISOs, or you're a re broker, you're going to be doing a lot of cold calling

I should have been more clearer so my fault. I wouldn't just soley rely on cold calling I would develop more warmer leads by befriending more people such as going to networking events. If people don't like you or know you they won't buy from you. Add them to your social network so they have a better chance of remembering you. I have classmates that have worked sales roles and it's common to see them last for several months and then quit. My guess is they relied on cold calling.

On a side note I heard back from a remote SDR company I applied to off Angel List and will be having a phone interview with a recruiter tomorrow. Once I get back from running errands I will research the company and have questions. Biggest concern I have is how I'm getting paid since I'm not working for free.

I want to publicly thank EndsExpect for answering my PM questions. I'm not exactly where I want to be in life but hard, smart work always pays off. I will be taking his advice to the T. Good times and bad times don't last forever but hard people last forever.

ChicagoFire, I cannot imagine being on this as long as you have. That's inspiring.
I just started looking for Saas SDR roles last sunday. Got my resume re-written by a pro and heard from 2 companies, so far. One hasn't confirmed the telephone interview, other one's on Friday.

NYC SDR/BDR tech startup notes:

-standard pay is 50k base + 20k bonus = 70k OTE
-look for companies with a promotion track of SDR->AE in 6-12 months
-year over year revenue growth is extremely important, higher the better, do not join a dying company
-if you have linkedin premium employee count should be increasing
-good companies will appear on "best startups" lists on Linkedin, BI, etc. multiple times
-always ask, "what percentage of sdrs hit quota?". if low means numbers are unattainable
-stuff to know: funding, product rank within market, high/low turnover rate (how many people get fired vs stay)
-you'll be asked about outreach/salesloft, zoominfo/discoverorg, linkedin sales nav, salesforce, google them now if you don't know what they are

Quote: (01-29-2019 10:20 AM)Zeroblack Wrote:  

ChicagoFire, I cannot imagine being on this as long as you have. That's inspiring.
I just started looking for Saas SDR roles last sunday. Got my resume re-written by a pro and heard from 2 companies, so far. One hasn't confirmed the telephone interview, other one's on Friday.

Ha tell me about it. I've been doing food industry for 7 FUCKING years. I've tried multiple times to leave by going into other industries but nothing has clicked so far. I actually will hear back from a hiring manager tomorrow and unfortunately I think the answer is no.

Good luck on your interview!

Just finished the phone interview and it's a no because he said he'll interview for a few more weeks. It lasted 5 minutes and was completely like EndsExpects post on interviewing. Show why you're a good fit and push for the close.

I got another phone interview next Tuesday, this time with a saas company.

^^

Just reanalyze what you might have done wrong. At best maybe the interviewer was pressed for time. If anything based on what Graft has stated in other threads some people even the so called successful sales managers will just pass you up no matter what your qualifications are. I had an interview last week and the interviewer said he'll contact me last Friday if I landed the position. He seemed to like how I had a chip on my shoulder and a drive for doing 80 calls per day since I'm coming from the gutters. He still ghosted on me, my follow up, and my LinkedIn invitation.

I have absolutely no luck with sales after months of job searching. EndsExpects gave me pointers on medical device sales and what I might do to land that particular field is go into niche site sales and circumvent the entry level 50K positions. Just off the top of my head the device industry is 150K for like 3 days of work per week, I'd be stupid not to take that offer I just have to put in the work for my niche sites and then convince the hiring manager I have what it takes to succeed. Apparently being in the food industry isn't compelling. Just an alternative to consider since job searching sucks and you're obviously not getting paid for time spent.

The toughest time in your sales career is the beginning. The most important choice is your first SDR gig and whether it can lead to an inside sales role with good training within a year. Once you get to a field role with a well known company then you have a lot more options.

There's a difference in quality between field sales jobs in tech. Some tech companies have high earning potential but sell a software that's "nice to have" instead of "must have" or is not a dominating player in the market. Companies like Oracle or Cisco sell products that have mandatory use in almost every F1000 company so you don't have to scrap for leads or beg for time in front of the CIO like you would at a company thats more niche. If you get a field sales role at one of these companies you'll be able to command 200k+ income on the market after a year or two.

I expect hiring to be more selective in the future once people fully figure out the income potential being comparable to other high paying industries like FO finance or big-law. Right now it's still possible for a history major with no internships to get an SDR job at a great company, but most of the kids graduating in who get hired for top training programs have internships and/or being recruited from a college sales program. If you get a job out of college at a top 10 tech company, you usually have one year of making 70-80k and making low six figures for a few years after that. Once these guys get to the field they are usually in their mid twenties and making 200k+ with incredible upside. These kind of financial opportunities are going to make more people want in. Once young people with technical degrees and sales experience focus their efforts, it will be very hard to get into this industry without any qualifications.

I had another phone interview, he liked me as a person but the hiring manager would have to look at the performance and tech knowledge to determine if I'm good. Will know by mid next week.
Did my best to sell myself, and now just wait. On Monday, I have two more interviews, if they don't get rescheduled.

ChicagoFire, I hope you see progress in your job hunt. I'll keep posting my progress, and consider the alternative too.

Quote: (02-06-2019 11:00 AM)ChicagoFire Wrote:  

^^

Just reanalyze what you might have done wrong. At best maybe the interviewer was pressed for time. If anything based on what Graft has stated in other threads some people even the so called successful sales managers will just pass you up no matter what your qualifications are. I had an interview last week and the interviewer said he'll contact me last Friday if I landed the position. He seemed to like how I had a chip on my shoulder and a drive for doing 80 calls per day since I'm coming from the gutters. He still ghosted on me, my follow up, and my LinkedIn invitation.

I have absolutely no luck with sales after months of job searching. EndsExpects gave me pointers on medical device sales and what I might do to land that particular field is go into niche site sales and circumvent the entry level 50K positions. Just off the top of my head the device industry is 150K for like 3 days of work per week, I'd be stupid not to take that offer I just have to put in the work for my niche sites and then convince the hiring manager I have what it takes to succeed. Apparently being in the food industry isn't compelling. Just an alternative to consider since job searching sucks and you're obviously not getting paid for time spent.

Quote: (02-06-2019 09:53 PM)Graft Wrote:  

Once young people with technical degrees and sales experience focus their efforts, it will be very hard to get into this industry without any qualifications.

I must be doing something very wrong then and this applies to my general job search. I can't get a sales job for the life of me. Even Yelp rejected me and supposedly that company is at the low end to start.

GT said go into a call center and that's potentially a route I might take if I decide to stay in Illinois for a couple more years. I'm leaning towards doing niche sites at the moment and staying with my part time job. Once money starts rolling in I'll apply to sales jobs again with my niche site experience.

^^
I'm getting the same experience in Toronto. Recruiters don't have a lot of Saas sdr jobs on hand. I've only been contacted by recruiters for 2 jobs and they both were internally filled or had an hour commute. I'm having better luck searching on my own actually. But the current job market right now doesn't seem to be good.

Did 2 phone interviews today. I'm moving on to a second interview later this week with one of them. The other interview just sounded like the girl wants to go through it because they already have a candidate. Very pushy about salary and explaining yourself. Left a bad taste in my mouth.

An update from Monday, I had 4 phone interviews and one in person interview from then until now. There's one more phone interview tomorrow and just got word I have another in person interview for next week. Over the next two days I'll be getting news on whether there's more in person interviews to be had.

I'm getting used to handling them on the phone but in persons are much tougher. A 2 hour meeting with 2 or 3 people going over questions you've answered before is tough. I swear I've answered the same questions maybe 10 times now.

^^

Good luck.

Anyone interested in making good money.

https://www.medreps.com

Look for entry level positions.

Most jobs pay over 100k. Larger territories require about 50% travel, with company car and expenses paid. A good chunk of the guys in my industry run SA game in small college towns. You would be shocked at how well it works if you actually have money and decent looks. We always stay in the best hotels. Invite the girl to meet you for drinks at the bar. Invite her up to your room to look at whatever bullshit you can think of... score.

Game aside... it's a solid career. We have a lack of quality guys applying and the entry level positions seem to be filling up with 20 year old girls in pushup bras. They are absolute dipshits and can't sell anything... so they typically fail within 1 year. If you don't want to spend the rest of your life answering to the male feminists in Tech... please apply.

Quote: (02-14-2019 12:43 AM)EndsExpect Wrote:  

Anyone interested in making good money.

https://www.medreps.com

Look for entry level positions.

Most jobs pay over 100k. Larger territories require about 50% travel, with company car and expenses paid. A good chunk of the guys in my industry run SA game in small college towns. You would be shocked at how well it works if you actually have money and decent looks. We always stay in the best hotels. Invite the girl to meet you for drinks at the bar. Invite her up to your room to look at whatever bullshit you can think of... score.

Game aside... it's a solid career. We have a lack of quality guys applying and the entry level positions seem to be filling up with 20 year old girls in pushup bras. They are absolute dipshits and can't sell anything... so they typically fail within 1 year. If you don't want to spend the rest of your life answering to the male feminists in Tech... please apply.

Repped. Let me look into this. Fun fact I interviewed at a demo show job that is pretty similar to this and they don't offer company cars (wear and tear on your personal car) or this kind of pay so I'm somewhat familiar with this lifestyle.

I'm currently on the fence with relocating to another state to work on the oil rigs. If I can get a company car, room and board AND make 100K+ I'll do this instead. Job searching sucks and some days I just want to rip my hair out. Just looking at the success rate gets my hope up (1/6 get job offers, etc).

Any certain certificates/training/information to drop on the med interviewer that will help increase my odds of getting hired? I can get interviews in general but can't close for the life of me.

Once I get home from work I'll apply. Hot damn this forum is awesome!

Quote: (02-14-2019 12:43 AM)EndsExpect Wrote:  

Anyone interested in making good money.

https://www.medreps.com

Look for entry level positions.

Most jobs pay over 100k. Larger territories require about 50% travel, with company car and expenses paid. A good chunk of the guys in my industry run SA game in small college towns. You would be shocked at how well it works if you actually have money and decent looks. We always stay in the best hotels. Invite the girl to meet you for drinks at the bar. Invite her up to your room to look at whatever bullshit you can think of... score.

Game aside... it's a solid career. We have a lack of quality guys applying and the entry level positions seem to be filling up with 20 year old girls in pushup bras. They are absolute dipshits and can't sell anything... so they typically fail within 1 year. If you don't want to spend the rest of your life answering to the male feminists in Tech... please apply.

I'm in Toronto unfortunately but I'll check it out and see if there's a Canadian alternative.

Quote: (02-14-2019 10:30 AM)ChicagoFire Wrote:  

Repped. Let me look into this. Fun fact I interviewed at a demo show job that is pretty similar to this and they don't offer company cars (wear and tear on your personal car) or this kind of pay so I'm somewhat familiar with this lifestyle.
I'm currently on the fence with relocating to another state to work on the oil rigs. If I can get a company car, room and board AND make 100K+ I'll do this instead. Job searching sucks and some days I just want to rip my hair out. Just looking at the success rate gets my hope up (1/6 get job offers, etc).
Any certain certificates/training/information to drop on the med interviewer that will help increase my odds of getting hired? I can get interviews in general but can't close for the life of me.
Once I get home from work I'll apply. Hot damn this forum is awesome!

The jobs that are high paying and easy, they literally sit you down at the interview and then ask you who you know in the industry. Then they call those folks and ask them. Getting jobs is 100% about having the right connections. So, ignore those positions. A lot of them pay 180 to 250k, but it takes time and work to get there. I mean on the surgical side having a good relationship with 10 surgeons will make you worth 200k easy. When I say a good relationship, I mean you can send them an email about a new product and ask them to try it... and they will.

A huge chunk of older medical sales folks are high school degree guys. They like to see science or business backgrounds, but there are no degrees required. You have to have a basic understanding of medicine and human biology though. Just research the product before the interview and you will be fine.

If you get serious and you want to learn how the industry works... here is a website with lots of free info and training. https://www.hida.org

This is a $160 billion industry with super high margins!

Quote: (02-14-2019 10:40 AM)Zeroblack Wrote:  

I'm in Toronto unfortunately but I'll check it out and see if there's a Canadian alternative.

If you won't leave Canada then forget it. The medical device market in Canada is fucked up. Health Canada is stupid on a level you can't imagine. They buy shit products at dirt cheap prices and Canadian citizens are stoked about it because the dipshits think everything is free.

Basically the Canadian government wants you to pay $5,000 to $200,000 up front for access to the market every year. Then they only do bids once every 3 to 5 years. So, this is usually handled by a corporate government account specialist in the US. Once the Canuck government buys whatever 10 years out of date piece of Chinese made bullshit they plan to fuck up patients with... they force everyone to use it. So, reps are rarely needed.

Basically what I'm saying is that Canada is a medical shithole. It works good if you are young and healthy. If you ever need surgery for anything... RUN! FUCKING RUN! Canadian surgeons are the bottom of the barrel. In Toronto they are still doing surgeries open that even 3rd world countries are doing laproscopic. Thats insane.

Sorry for the Tirade. I once spent 3 years as nation sales manager for Canada along with the Western US. I rate this health system one of the worst in the industrialized world.